Indeterminate
by Clavichordkeys
Summary: A young man named Alex runs away to become a trainer against his good judgement and the law. It turns out to be anything but easy when he has to deal with a statter-brained Wooper, an anxious Mareep, and a very strange Ralts.
1. Chapter 1: Skip

Alex wasn't sure if it was the right choice. He was almost certain it wasn't, and yet something inside of him drove him to push forward, as if there was any way to turn back now. They were probably miles away from his home by now. The sea outside crashed against the side of the boat, causing water to leak inside the vessel. He had long given up the struggle to stay dry and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, looking forward to changing at the nearest Pokemon center. The captain silently piloted the ship as a small bird pokemon sat on his shoulder, its head tucked under its wing. Occasionally, it would stir in response to a few rough waves, and then quickly fall back asleep.

He idly felt one of the two pokeballs on his belt, tracing the lock with a finger. Trying to remember the captain's name, he drew a blank.

"Excuse me-uh, sir", the young man asked," Is it ok if I let out one of my pokemon?"

"Well, that depends," the old captain shouted over the roaring waves, " What kind is it? I remember the last time I let someone do that they almost sank my ship with that big...uh...snake rock-like pokemon. Another time, this girl let out her rather ill-mannered Skitty and it nearly ate my-"

"It's just a Wooper...don't worry, it won't cause any trouble", he reassured.

"A Wooper?", the old man said, sounding surprised, " Why, I haven't seen one of those since I was a trainer. Sure, let it out, it ought to enjoy this miserable weather!"

"Thanks", the young trainer replied, throwing out a pokeball.

A dim flash a light filled the cramped cabin and faded to reveal a small, witless pokemon. It's beady, wide-set eyes observed its surroundings, finally turning to face its master.

"Wooo...," the pokemon sang as it began to waddle to the young man.

"Hey, Skip, what's up?", he asked, rubbing its smooth, slimy head.

"Hey, now, you be careful!", the captain exclaimed, " You should know better than not to touch a Wooper with bare hands!"

"I'm used to it, me and Skip have been together for a while now", the trainer assured, wiping the film onto his jeans.

Probably for six years now, ever since he was 10 years old. It was a few days after he a failed to score in the Top Three for his Pokemon Trainer's exam, thus failing to earn his license and missing the chance to choose his first pokemon. He didn't even make the top ten, who were at least given permits to catch and train pokemon with the help of others. While it's true that very few 10 year olds ever make it into the Top Three their first time, it was expected in his family. His older brother had the highest score out of his class when he took the exam, and his dad had made second. 23 out of a class of 50 just wasn't very impressive.

He remembered hanging around a dirty pond that was connected to a creek that ran behind his house. He had taken his brother's old rod with him to catch a few Magikarp for sport. Not like he could keep them, just hook them and throw them back in, but it was something to get his mind off his troubles. After an hour or so of waiting, he had finally caught something, a Magikarp of course. Just as he unhooked the wriggling fish, a green, four-legged creature tackled it out of his hands. It flopped around on the ground for a while until the creature tackled it again, causing it to faint.

"Great job, Chiklet!", said a girlish voice. A young girl with short brown hair ran into the clearing and quickly embraced her pokemon.

"Thanks a lot, Lily! That was my Magikarp!", Alex yelled as he baited his hook and placed it back into the water.

"Really? Because I don't think you can say any pokemon is yours", Lily sneered," By the way, how do you like my Chikorita? Isn't she just adorable?"

"Shut up, no one cares about your stupid Chikorita!", the boy said bitterly, attending to his fishing pole.

"You're just jealous because you didn't get a pokemon.", she taunted, hovering over him. Her pokemon did its best to mimic its trainer's stance.

"Whatever, I -", he started, but was interrupted by loud splashes. Something was hooked at the end of his line.

"Hey, I caught something!", he exclaimed, forgetting his annoyance.

"Probably another dumb Magikarp," Lily said under her breath.

However, it didn't move anything like a Magikarp. Instead of trying to pull itself away from the line, it merely wiggled in place. It didn't take much effort to pull whatever he had caught onto shore. Once it was on land, he realized that it hadn't taken the bait; it had tangled itself up in the fishing line and was still trying to eat the bait, only a few inches out of reach. It noticed the boy and looked at him with a blank, yet friendly expression. It blinked a few times, though the timing for each eye wasn't quite in synch.

"Wooopaa", it gurgled, not entirely aware of what had happened.

"What is this?", he asked, confused by the strange pokemon.

"It's a Wooper, you idiot. If you actually studied for your exam you would have known that!", the female trainer boasted, " It's a water/ground type that occasionally comes onto land and is covered in poisonous mucus."

The Wooper continued to try to eat the bait, flailing its little flipper-feet in vain, unaware of any possible danger around it. Lily snickered at the pokemon's behavior.

"Wow, it must be retarded or something", she laughed.

"How do you know? Maybe it's just hungry", Alex said.

"You caught it with an old rod, everyone knows you only get Magikarp with an old rod. How else could you catch anything else with that piece of junk if it wasn't defective?", Lily said matter-of-factly.

"What do you know?", he snapped, tired of his classmate's remarks.

"More than you", Lily boasted as she turned around to leave, "See you when you finally get your liscense, if ever."

He ignored her and tended to the tangled Wooper. Carefully, he slowly removed the fishing line from its slimy body. A numbing pain shot through his fingers as they came in contact with the mucus, making him wince. Finally, the Wooper stood up and stared at the boy, it's wide mouth resembling a smile. It bent down and ate the bait, chewing slowly. From that day forward, that Wooper would make many visits to Alex's house, often loitering around in his backyard, idly nibbling on a few plants in his mother's berry garden. It was seen as a pest by his family, but Alex always saw it as nothing short of a friend. Though it wasn't registered as a pet, he treated it as such, giving it a name and making sure it was always well-fed and healthy. When Alex decided to leave home, it took no effort to conceal it in a pokeball he had "borrowed" from his brother.

Alex snapped back to reality when a strong wave broke against the side of the ship, water splashing into his lap. He looked on the floor and saw that Skip had fallen asleep in a large puddle. He flexed the hand he had pet Skip with, slowly regaining sensation in his fingers. Years of exposure to the Wooper's mucus had slightly lessened the effects of the poison, but numbness was still a problem. The view from the porthole was ink black, the movement of the waves was all that was visible with the rest blotted out by the darkness. It would be hours before they would reach shore. He leaned against the side of the cabin and closed his eyes, hoping to sleep but knowing that it wouldn't come easily.


	2. Chapter 2: Mari

Alex buried his face into a fresh towel as he stepped out of the communal shower at the Pokemon Center. He wasn't sure what town he was in exactly, but didn't really care, as his first priority when he made it to shore was to wash off the layers of salt that coated his skin. He stepped over to a row of sinks and wiped away the fog on the mirror. Though he was clean, it was still obvious that he had spent hours at sea, his eyes red and fatigued from salt water and lack of sleep. His clothes had been soaking for a while now and he figured that they were clean enough and began to wring them out. Unfortunately, he had neglected to pack his spare outfit in something waterproof, leaving him without anything clean to wear.

"It's my own fault, I guess", he thought to himself as he gathered his wet clothes.

Luckily, it was still very late at night, so no one noticed as he snuck across the hallway in nothing but a towel to his room. It wasn't so much a room as it was a closet with a bed, but it was the cheapest he could afford. The boat trip had seriously drained his savings, which didn't include the bribe he had given the old captain for his secrecy, and he had a little less than half left over. He draped his clothes over his bed frame to dry and lay down on the worn out mattress.

"I can't believe this is actually happening", he said to himself as a cautions smile spread across his face

He sat up and fished out a folded piece of paper from his backpack. The trainer peeled it open and read it over as he had done so many times before.

To Mr. Alexander Monroe:

We at the Pokemon Trainers League regret to inform you that after your fifth attempt to pass the Pokemon Trainers exam, you will be no longer able to register for the exam until you are 18 years or older. Your latest score of 356 out of a possible 900 does not authorize you to catch and/or train Pokemon under the supervision of an official trainer. We highly recommend that you consider a different career path, as training Pokemon can be a dangerous and potentially life threatening occupation that requires a specialized...

He pulled the wet letter apart until it was nothing but a shredded mess and then formed the pieces into a ball, chucking it into a plastic trash can.

"What do those assholes know..." Alex said, "That exam is mostly trivia and memorization, how could it possibly apply to being a trainer?"

Searching through his backpack, he got out his two pokeballs. After quickly drying one off, he let out Skip, who began to waddle around the room.

"Pa...woopa...", it said calmly, waddling around the room.

"Yeah, pretty cool, huh?", said Alex, humoring his pokemon.

He held the other pokeball in his hand, conflicted whether to let it out.

"It's been a while, I guess", he sighed, throwing it onto the ground.

A small, sheep-like pokemon appeared. It suddenly became aware that it was free and quickly ran under the bed.

"Re-e-e-ep", it bleated, shaking in fear.

Alex let out an angry sigh and put his palm to his face.

"Out of all the pokemon he caught, why did he give me this one?", he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

It was a few weeks before he left home. His brother had come back after being gone for two years and everyone was excited to see him, especially Alex. He had called ahead a few days before arriving and mentioned that he had something to give him.

"Hey, Vincent!", said Alex, giving his brother a hug, "How have you been, bro?"

"Oh, drop the act, Alex", said Vincent dismissively, "I know you're only interested in your present".

"You know me well," Alex joked.

"Well, ok", he said, shuffling through his backpack, " I caught you a pokemon for you to use when you finally become a trainer."

Their father had overheard this statement and let out a sarcastic chuckle. Alex did his best to ignore him.

"Go, Mari!", Vincent yelled, throwing out a pokeball.

It opened to reveal a timid little Mareep. It looked at the two young men and was frozen in fear, aside from the continuous trembling.

"You caught me a Mareep?", Alex asked, highly disappointed," You could have caught me something a little more badass."

"Aw, come on, she suits you!", said Vincent, mockingly. He began to pet the nervous pokemon, who flinched at his touch, "Besides, you're not what I would call 'bad ass'".

"Maaareeep!", the frightened pokemon cried, running behind the sofa.

"Don't worry about that", Vincent said, returning Mari to her pokeball, "She's a bit...agoraphobic, but I guess she would be, considering how long she's been in storage."

"Hold on!", yelled Alex, suspicious, " You didn't catch this pokemon for me, you're just trying to clean out all the useless pokemon out of your storage!"

"So what? A pokemon's a pokemon, be grateful", his brother said, throwing him his new companion, " I could have easily released it."

Alex looked under the bed. Mari was bundled up in corner, staring off into space.

" 'Release it' my ass", mumbled Alex, " It would've gotten killed in a heartbeat".

Skip waddled up to Alex, curious about what he was looking at, and peeked under the bed.

"Wooop", he stated, lightly slapping his tail on the ground.

"Don't get close to it", Alex said, pushing Skip back a bit, " It's scared; it might lash out."

The pokemon ignored his trainer and crawled under the bed, letting out soft murmurs as if to reassure the other creature. Alex tried to grab on to his tail to stop him but he slipped out of his grip. A moment later, there was an unnerving silence that was eventually broken by a loud shreak.

"Re-re-eeeeeep!", the Mareep screamed, knocking Skip back against the wall.

The Wooper stuck to the wall for a few seconds then slowly slid down, it's expression never changing from it's usuual blank-faced grin. It got up and tried to appoarch the scared pokemon.

"Wooo...wooo...", Skip hummed calmly.

Mari lifted her tail above her back, pointing the glowing orb on the end threateningly at the water pokemon. She snorted and stamped her hooves as if to warn him. The Wooper didn't seem to recognize this as a threat and continued to waddle towards her. A brilliant crackling light suddenly filled the room, engulfing Skip. Alex panicked and grabbed the Mareep's tail to try to stop the attack, only to get shocked himself, blasting him backwards. Outside his room, there was a loud knocking on the door followed by what sounded like someone forcefully unlocking it. A man in a blue uniform barged in, scaring Mari enough to make her stop and hide under the bed.

"What the hell is going on in here?", the man snapped, visibly holding himself back," I've been getting all kind of complaints about noise and I find some stupid kid training his pokemom in a 8X10 room? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"S-sorry, officer...", said Alex, collecting himself from the shock, "I wasn't training-"

"I don't care what the fuck you were doing!", the officer said, a little louder this time, "Put your pokemon away and go to bed!"

With that the man left his room, slamming the door behind him. Alex quickly returned Mari to her pokeball and inspected Skip for any damage. Suprisingly, he didn't look to be hurt at all.

"Wait", thought Alex, "He's a water pokemon..."

Rummaging through his backpack, he pulled out small, yet thick book. While offical trainers were given electronic Pokedexes, students studying to become trainers were given Pokemon Textbooks. They were usually less up to date and much heavier, but they pretty much had the same information. He quickly flipped to the entry on Woopers, its type reading as water/ground. Ground was immune to electric...right? He checked the type entries and found it to be true.

After returning Skip to his pokeball, he turned out the lights and laid in bed. He stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours, thinking over what could possibly lie ahead. Maybe this will be more difficult than he thought...


	3. Chapter 3: Lost Pokeball

"Okay, sir, one night of room and board comes to a total of...40.00 dollars.", said the nurse at the front desk in a cheerful voice.

Alex pulled out a few still damp bills and handed it to the woman.

"Thank you, sir. Is there anything else we can do for you today?", she asked.

"Oh! Uh, could you heal my Pokemon?", asked Alex, taking out their pokeballs. He wasn't sure if they had sustained any damage from the earlier night, but didn't want to take any risks.

"Of course! I just need to see your Trainer's license", she chimed, holding out her hand.

"Yes...of course", said Alex nervously. His "Trainer's license" was actually an expired license that used to belong to his brother which he had salvaged by changing the name and dates. Luckly, he looked enough like his brother in the photo to use it.

The nurse briefly looked over his license and gave it back to him. She didn't seem to notice. He handed her his pokemon and she whisked them away, returning them literally a few seconds later.

"You're pokemon are fully healed; We hope to see you again!", she said, smiling.

Alex thanked her walked off to access his PC for a few items. Back at home, he had been stocking up on potions and repels to use on his journey, storing them in his PC so that he didn't have to take them on the boat. He typed in all that he needed and waited for the transporter to materialize them in the inbox. The machine began to hum loudly, ending with a "DING!". He opened the panel and put his items away, but as he was about to leave, he noticed something very strange.

In the space between the PC and wall, there seemed to be something lodged up in the corner. He couldn't quite tell what it was, so he knelt down and reached in to grab it. It felt round and smooth, like a pokeball, which it was, albeit very dirty and scratched up, like it had been there for years. He blew some dust away and found that someone had written, no, etched something into it.

"Fae"

"Huh", mused Alex, rubbing his head. It was definitely an occupied pokeball; it had the weight of one. He was tempted to make it his own, after all it was a free, pre-trained pokemon, no strings attached. It had probably forgotten about its trainer anyway, if it looked as old as it did. Considering how many rules he had already broken, he decided he should do at least one decent act.

"Excuse me, miss," he said to the nurse at the desk," I found this pokeball behind the PC".

"Oh my", the nurse said, surprised, "Someone must have dropped it...quite a while ago, from the looks of it."

"Can you find its owner?"

"Well, let's see", said the nurse, taking a scanner across the pokeball, "We just have to scan the serial number and look up-"

The nurse looked confused, "Something's wrong here-it looks as though the information has been corrupted."

"What do you mean", Alex asked, equally as confused.

"None of it makes any sense, when I usually scan a pokemon, it comes up with the Trainer's ID and information...but this is all just random letters and numbers. It must mean that something's wrong with the serial number or the trainer is no longer registered. Either way, this pokemon technically has no trainer.

"Maybe you could search the name on the pokeball?", suggested Alex.

The nurse typed in the name," Nope, there's no trainer listed with the name "Fae", at least not spelled in that manner."

"Well...then, do you think I could have it?", Alex asked.

"I don't see why not!", said the nurse, happily handing the pokemon to Alex, "Just be careful, you might get more than you bargained for!"

"Uh, thanks...", he said as he put the pokeball on his belt.


	4. Chapter 4: Fae

Alex sat in an open field, looking over a regional map that he had gotten from the old captain. Apparently he had spent the night in a place called Petalburg, with the first Gym in a city not far from there. Skip waddled up to him and began to chew on the edge of the map.

"Stop it, Skip! We're going to need this if we expect to get anywhere.", said Alex, pushing his pokemon away.

"Woooop?", the creature asked, as if it was begging.

"Yeah, here you go...", said Alex, throwing him a bag of nacho-flavored chips.

As Skip happily ate the junk food, Alex took out the pokeball he had found earlier that day. The letters that made up "Fae" were large and sharp, as though a child had etched it in. His thumb lingered over the lock, curious as to what kind of pokemon it held but also apprehensive to find out what. For all he knew, it could be a Gyarados that would eat him as soon as he let it out, or Typhlosion that would burn him to crisp.

"Don't be stupid", he said to himself, "It's probably just a Pidgey or a Ledyba..."

Holding his breath, he threw the pokeball and was relieved to see a very small pokemon, though one he had never seen before. It looked like a small child, its eyes covered by what could be hair along with two flat horn-like plates sticking out the front and back. It looked up at him, showing off a pair of bright, orange-red eyes. It just stood there, unusually calm, floating a few inches from the ground. Alex quickly got out his textbook and followed the taxonomy chart, which eventually lead him to an entry.

_Ralts: The Embrace Pokemon_

_Type: Psychic_

_This pokemon has the ability to sense the emotions of people. If its trainer is in a cheerful mood, this pokemon grows cheerful and joyous in the same way..._

"Oh wow, awesome, a psychic type!", Alex exclaimed. He had always wanted a psychic pokemon, since he heard they make powerful additions to any team.

He looked at his Ralts and then the picture in the text. Instead of the red/green color scheme in the picture, this one had a blue/orange color scheme. He looked up "color" in the index and found an entry.

_Alternative Coloration_

_Occasionally Pokemon will deviate from its species' typical pigmentation. This is called alternative coloration, or more commonly known as "Shiny". Scientists have yet to discover what controls this variation. Originally, genetics were thought to determine alternative coloration, but no research as of yet supports this claim. In fact, very little is known about the nature of alternative coloration and if/how it affects behavior..._

Alex was beside himself. Not only had he found a free psychic pokemon, it was also a shiny! He couldn't believe his luck. Neither his dad nor his brother ever had a shiny!

"Hey there, little guy!", Alex said to the pokemon in a sickeningly sweet voice.

It stared coldly in response.

"I'm your new trainer, but don't worry, I won't lose you like your last one did!", he smiled, a feeling only a little embarrassed by his cutesy behavior.

Skip took notice of the new pokemon and waddled over to greet it, carrying the bag of chips in his mouth. His orange-stained grin grew wide, uttering various "woos" and "woops". He skillfully picked up a chip with its mouth and attempted to feed the Ralts, but it remained stoic and unmoving as cheese flavoring was smeared on its face.

"Come on, Skip, cut it out", Alex groaned, pushing aside the over-zealous Wooper, "It probably doesn't like chips".

Skip looked as though he was about to express disappointment, but then happily ate the rest of the bag. Alex wiped away the powder from the Ralt's face then picked it up.

"You need a name, don't you?", said Alex, looking his pokemon over. He liked to give pokemon gender appropriate names, but most of this was based on guessing. While he had an idea of how he could sex a pokemon, it just grossed him out way too much. Something about it though, made him think it was female.

"Well, for all I know the name on the pokeball could be yours, so I guess we'll go with Fae.", he said, cradling the little pokemon in his arms.

A tiny smile slowly spread across the Ralts's face.

"Master..."

Alex immediately dropped Fae onto the ground.


	5. Chapter 5: Speech

"Holy Shit...", whispered Alex as he picked up Skip and began to back away.

"There is no need to be afraid...", said a disembodied voice. It had a low and flat tone that was unnervingly calm.

Fae gestured towards Alex, beckoning him.

"H-how can you talk? Pokemon can't talk, they can't talk...", Alex muttered, clenching his Wooper protectively.

"I am not talking", she said, "I am telepathically translating my thoughts into words that you can understand..."

"Is that normal?", he asked.

"Yes, psychic pokemon such as myself can do this with time and pratice..."

"I-I don't know...", stuttered Alex, grabbing his textbook and looking up "speech"

_Pokemon-Speech_

_It has been widely debated whether pokemon are truly capable of speech. Many have suggested that certain pokemon can learn to talk while others cite it as simple mimicry. There have been cases of psychic pokemon who have learned to telepathically communicate with humans, though this is not considered actual speech..._

"Well...heh, I guess that's cool then...", Alex said very uncomfortably. He placed Skip back on the ground, who wobbled slightly from being squeezed so hard.

"I still sense uneasiness within you. What is wrong?", Fae asked, floating over to her trainer.

"Oh, I-I guess I'm just not really used to a pokemon t-talking to me...", stuttered Alex as he fiddled with a piece of grass.

"That is fine. You will become accustomed to it eventually. I am very patient.", the Ralts assured.

"So...um...", began Alex, feeling a bit awkward about "talking" with a pokemon," How does it feel to be out again? You must have been behind that PC for long time."

Fae stared at him for a while, then finally spoke," It feels very nice, though it has not felt like much time has passed since I had last been outside of my pokeball. Time passes differently inside a pokeball."

Alex's hopes sank. If she could remember the last time she was out, she could probably remember her old trainer.

"Well, you probably want to go find your trainer, huh?", asked Alex.

"No, I do not remember my old trainer.", Fae replied.

"Oh, ok then.", said Alex," I guess that makes me your official trainer?".

"Yes...", the Ralts said.

"Woop!Woop!", Skip cried, running up between the two.

"What do you want, Skip?", said Alex, fatigued.

"Woooopa!"

The Wooper flopped on its belly and began to roll across the ground, bits of grass and dirty sticking to its sticky body.

"It looks like your Wooper wants to play...", Fae observed." This would be a good time to train it. In the meantime, I will stay in my pokeball."

The strange pokemon walked up to its pokeball and was about to press the lock until Alex spoke up.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay out here with me and Skip?," he offered.

"No, that is fine. You will be able to concentrate more effectively if you are alone with your Wooper. Good-bye..."

In a flash of light, she disappeared into her pokeball. Alex picked it up and looked it over. Though he should be ecstatic for having such a pokemon, something about the whole situation felt off. Very off. How could anyone lose a shiny pokemon and not bother to look for it, especially when it was in such a relatively conspicuous place? A shiny, talking pokemon for that manner, which in itself seemed extremely rare. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him that sent a wave of paranoia washing over him.

"If she can project her thoughts...does that mean that she can read thoughts?", Alex wondered.

Worried that she would hear his suspicions, he quickly cleared his mind and retreated with Skip into the tall grass.


	6. Chapter 6: Training

A strong stream of water hit a Zigzagoon dead-on, causing it to faint. Skip ran up to the fallen raccoon pokemon and stood triumphantly over it, beaming with pride.

"Wow, you actually did it!", Alex exclaimed, "Good job!"

Finally, his beloved Wooper had won a battle with only 6 tries, 4 potions, and 2 bouts of fainting. Many might see this as largely a failure, but considering his own track record, who was he to judge? He patted the excitable pokemon on the head, ignoring the numbness that shot through his fingers. He pulled his textbook out of his jacket pocket and flipped to an entry that listed Wooper's moveset.

"Alright, um...", he said, inspecting the page, "Maybe now you can do...Slam?"

Skip, confident in his abilities, happily wiggled his gills."WOOOO!"

"Good, good...", Alex mumbled, reading, "Ok, "Slam" is pretty much were you slam your opponent with your...tail. Think you can do that?"

Skip looked more blank than usual as he stared at his trainer.

"Ok, now...take your tail", he said, gesturing towards it and then to a nearby log," And hit that log with it"

The little Wooper looked at its own tail and began to lightly swing it back and forth.

"No, that's Tail Whp, we already went over that...", he sighed, "Take your TAIL and HIT the LOG."

Skip thought for a second then broke into grin, as if finally understanding. He slapped his tail into a mud puddle, causing mud to splash all over Alex's shoes and pants legs.

"Goddammit, Skip!", Alex shouted, trying to shake off the goop, "Is it that fucking hard to do?"

A hurt look spread over the pokemon's face and he began to whimper quietly. His skin began to secret copious amounts of mucus that dripped off his body in thick globs. As swiftly as he could, Skip turned around and toddled deeper into the tall grass. Alex started to run after him, but stepped into a particularly large and deep mud puddle that engulfed his feet, stopping him in his tracks.

"Skip, get back here!", Alex called out vain as he tried to pull his feet out of the muk.

A few moments later, a high-pitched squeal came from the direction of were Skip had fled. It sounded human, but he couldn't be sure considering how well some pokemon could mimic sounds. The grass began to shake as something walked through it, footsteps become louder as it approached. Finally, a teenage girl emerged from the brush, holding Skip by the tail with a gloved hand.

"Yo, kid!", she shouted, annoyed," Is this your Wooper?".

It looked as though she hadn't bathed in days, maybe weeks, her shoulder-length hair caked with dirt and grease. Her bangs were held back by two silver barrettes that seemed out of place compared to the rest of her outfit, a soiled cotton tank top and thin khaki pants that were tucked into muddy thick-soled boots. She must have been in the wilderness for quite a while, her tanned, freckled skin indicating constant exposure. She narrowed her brown eyes accusingly at Alex.

"Yes, and don't hold him like that!", Alex replied, still trying to free himself.

Before the girl could say anything, Skip sprayed her with a powerful jet of water, no longer willing tolerate the pain from being held so awkwardly. She shrieked in surprise as the Wooper fell to the ground and ran to his trainer.

"Ugh!", she grunted, shaking off water," Don't you have any control over that pest?"

"I do!", Alex yelled, pulling a foot out of the mud, "Just not when some bitch is manhandling him!"

"Oh, so you told it to slime all over my map?", she countered, showing him a soggy, half-dissolved map.

"Ok, look... ", he explained, finally freeing himself," I was just trying to train my Wooper and things got out of hand...I didn't mean to cause you any trouble, I'm sorry."

She crossed her arms, not satisfied with his apology, " 'Sorry', doesn't get me a new map..."

"What the hell am I suppose to do about it?", Alex barked, gesturing violently.

The ground began to rumble and a large, green dinosaur-like pokemon with petals around its neck ran out into the clearing. It came between the girl and Alex let out a loud roar. He fell to the ground in shock, too afraid to move. It looked as though it was about to crush him until the girl held him back.

"Calm down, Chiklet.", the girl said in a low voice, stroking the pokemon's neck, "He wasn't going to hurt me."

Chiklet. That name seemed so familiar. Suddenly, it dawned on him.

"Lily Williams?"

"So you've heard of me...", she said arrogantly.

"No, no...", said Alex, "I'm Alex Monroe, from Violet City...remember?"

Puzzled, she glanced at Skip then looked him over, slowly recognizing her old classmate. Alex recoiled as Lily wrapped her arms around him in a tearful hug.


	7. Chapter 7: Old Acquaintance

The two stood there for what seemed like hours as Lily tightly embraced him, tearfully laughing into his shoulder. Alex stood stiff, highly confused by what was going on.

"I thought you didn't like me!", Alex shouted over Lily's crying.

"I _don't_ like you!", she gasped, "I'm just so happy to see someone from home!"

Finally, she pulled away from him, wiping her eyes. Alex remained still, shell-shocked by what had just happened. The front of his shirt felt wet and hot from Lily's hug and the smell of dirt and body order lingered in the air around him. He coughed and wiped a few leaves off his chest.

"When was the last time you went back?", he asked.

"Oh, It's been a while now", she said," But tell me, when did you FINALLY get your license?".

"Eh, pretty recently", he lied.

"Well, at least you did. I always thought that you'd NEVER get it.", Lily laughed.

"Eheh, yeah...", Alex mumbled.

"What did you choose as your starter?", she asked, leaning against her Meganium.

"Oh...Uh, I chose Skip as my starter...since a year before I got my permit...", the young man replied, sheepishly holding up Skip.

"Wow, pretty ballsy...", Lily observed, putting her hands on her hips," Going out into the world with nothing but a retarded fish..."

"Hey!", Alex shouted, "He isn't that bad, he's learning!"

"Yeah, but you could've gotten such a much better pokemon", she sighed, "I bet you would've picked a Cynaquil."

Alex frowned. Cynaquil was the starter that his brother had chosen.

Lily clapped her hands together, "Well, why don't you show me the rest of your pokemon? Hopefully whatever else you have is better than that...thing ".

"Oh you just wait and see...", boasted Alex, hiding his anxiety.

He reached down to his belt and grabbed Fae's pokeball, deciding that Mari would only make him look even more pathetic. Besides, he was sure that not even she had a shiny pokemon.

"Go, Fae!", he shouted, throwing the ball.

Fae appeared on the field and turned to face Lily. The girl stared at the psychic pokemon, dumbstruck

"Oh. My. GOD!", she said," How the hell did you find a shiny pokemon?"

"I guess it was just luck...", Alex said, savoring the moment.

"I've never seen one in the flesh before...", Lily gasped, picking up the Ralts, " Especially one this cute!".

She began to cuddle Fae like a toddler, who didn't appreciate the attention. Alex gingerly took his pokemon back.

"She's not a doll, you know", he said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, sometimes I just forget that cute pokemon like that are wild animals", she blushed, playing with her hair.

Alex laughed, surprised to see a side of Lily that wasn't abrasive or demeaning. When they were kids, everything she did was just to show him how much better she was than him, and in a way, she was. Better grades, more friends, pretty much anything that he had ever tried to do she trumped him. The only time she ever acted halfway decent towards him was when neither of them had anyone else to play with, and even then she was still a bossy know-it-all. But now, even with the snark, she seemed almost-

"What's in that other pokeball?", Lily asked, pointing at his belt.

He jumped slightly and tried to hide it under his jacket, "Eh, it's nothing, don't worry about it..."

"Come on, let me see it", she whined, "Is it a Magikarp?".

"Ok, you want to see it?", asked Alex, frustrated, "Here you go."

He tossed the pokeball and Mari came into view, crouched on the ground. Shaking slightly, she looked over at Alex and immediately froze, her breathing becoming shallow and the orb on her tail beginning to spark. Lily remained silent and began to slowly approach the sheep pokemon, hands poised. He realized what she was going to do.

"Don't!", Alex yelled.

His voice startled Mari, who jumped up and tried to run into the tall grass. Immediately, Lily pounced onto the Mareep and held onto her tail, her gloves protecting her from the electricity. Alex watched as she seamlessly pulled a dark, strip of a gauze-like material out of her pocket and wrapped it around Mari's head, covering her eyes. The pokemon went from being terrified to confused, her orb going dark as she calmed down.

"What did you do?", he asked, amazed. He walked over and touched Mari's head, who remained still.

"Couldn't you see that she was going to attack you?", Lily stressed, gesturing to the pokemon, " You definitely need to train your Mareep, I've never seen a pokemon that was so nervous."

"Hey, it's not my fault!", Alex insisted, "My brother had her before me!"

Lily rolled her eyes, "That doesn't matter, she's your responsibility now."

Alex let out an angry sigh and looked over at his pokemon. She was calm now but how long would that last until she'd be trying to run away or shock someone. He sat down and buried his face into palms.

"Listen, Lily...", he said, fatigue in his voice, " I have no idea what I'm doing. I...".

He considered telling her everything, telling her everything that would expose him as a fraud. He knew that forging a fake ID might at best mean paying a fine or at worst spending several years in prison, but had no idea what would be the result of impersonating a training. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad?...Bullshit, of course it would be, considering his luck...He took a deep breath and looked up at Lily.

"I need your help", he said.

An array of emotions passed over her face, ranging from disgust to pity. Finally, she gave a sympathic smile and took a hold his hand, hoisting him up.

"My camp is just a few yards away, come on," she said, leading him.

Alex wordlessly complied as he followed Lily. He grabbed the nape of Mari's neck and pulled her along while Skip happily waddled after them. A few minutes later, they came upon a small campsite made of a makeshift fire pit and an old, tattered tent. Chiklet was the first to arrive, immediately laying down in front of the tent as though it was something he had done a thousand times before. Alex watched Lily as she pulled a line of nylon rope out of her backpack and fashion it into a harness around Mari. She handed him the end of the rope as well as a plastic bag filled with what looked like homemade feed.

"My Sandslash used to have a problem about being in open spaces too", Lily explained," All you have to do is just lead her around town for a while and reward her when she stays calm. Eventually, she'll learn that there's nothing to be afraid of."

Alex looked at the rope and feed in his hands, "Lily...I don't know if I can-"

"Oh shut up, you big baby!", she sneered, pushing him away, "You said you need help, so I'm helping you. I'll meet you back in town in a few; I heard that it was going to rain tonight so I'm going to pack up everything before it gets wet."

She began to take down her tent with the help of her Meganium and neatly folded the tarp into a compact square. Alex started to walk to town, looking back as he quietly fed a handful of feed to Mari.


	8. Chapter 8: Room 105

"I have no fucking idea what to think about it", Alex said to Mari as they walked back to Petalberg. So far, the Mareep had been relatively calm as she passively listened to her trainer's ramblings.

"It's like...six years ago she's this unbearable little brat who's main purpose in life is to show me up...and now this!", Alex emphasized, shaking the bag of feed and the rope.

"Maareee...", bleated Mari, slowly chewing.

"I don't know either, man...", he said, patting the pokemon on the head.

"It has been many years. Perhaps she is just more mature now."

"Fae?", Alex shouted, looking around his feet. He just now remembered that he didn't return her or Skip to their pokeballs and was beginning to panic. Feeling around his belt, he found that the two pokeballs were strangely occupied.

"I took the liberty of transporting myself and your Wooper back to our pokeballs..."

"You can do that?", Alex exclaimed, "Whatever, I'm sorry I didn't recall you or Skip, I just got so caught up in-"

"Do not worry. I could sense your confusion and I understand why it would slip your mind..."

"Heh, I didn't know you could talk outside of your pokeball...", he said, still not used to it.

"Telepathy is not bound by such restraints..."

"Oh,ok-"

"Also, I suggest that you think what you wish to say from now on, less you attach any unwanted attention..."

Alex looked over his shoulder and saw that a little boy and his mother had been staring at him as he engaged in his "conversation". He cringed and pulled the collar of his jacket over one side of his face and hurried past them, his face blood red.

"I wish you had told me that sooner!", he thought.

What she expressed next wasn't a coherent thought, but rather a very strange sensation. Almost like what one would feel when they laughed, however, it felt as though it was unfamiliar to her.

"That girl seemed very lonely...", said Fae.

"What are you talking about?", Alex thought, feeding a handful to Mari, " How can Lily be lonely? Back at home she had dozens of friends and she probably knows every trainer over in Johto. Who knows what kind of friends she has over here!"

"I just felt a deep sense of loneliness within her, "Fae explained, " Almost like a longing. It faded when she recognized you..."

"A longing?", echoed Alex, " Maybe she's homesick, she mentioned that she hadn't been back for a while."

Then again, when had she been back? He had been home almost the entire time that she had been gone and he would've have known if she had come home, seeing how anything in Violet City is news. His brother had come back only after a few months when he left for the first time and yet, he never remembered one instance of her coming home.

"Why do you never want to train me?"

"What?", asked Alex, taken aback by her statement.

"You always want to either train your Wooper or your Mareep, but never me. Why? Do you assume that I do not need to be trained?"

"Well...honestly, yes...", Alex admitted, " It's kind of hard to see you as a Pokémon, you know? I guess it would almost feel weird, I mean, you think almost exactly like a person."

"I don't want you to see me as just a pokemon...", said Fae, "But I want to be trained as a pokemon so I can evolve. Though I do not remember much about my previous trainer, I remember training for hours on end, never allowed to evolve. Whenever I got the urge, I was stopped. I've been in this form for far too long..."

"I'm sorry...", said Alex, feeling a bit guilty, "I'll train you whenever I get the chance, but for now I think I should work with Skip and Mari. They need a lot of practice before they'll be of any use in battle."

"Yes, I understand...", agreed Fae, sounding a bit defeated, "I will wait...".

"Don't worry, Fae, I promise I'll train you within the week-", said Alex.

A bright light filled the sky, illuminating the clouds, that was shortly followed by booming thunder. Mari began to panic and pulled on her harness, but Alex stood as still as possible, trying his best to appear calm. He began to walk a bit faster, keeping his grip firm on the rope and gave the Mareep a few reassuring pats. She began to settle down just as they reached the Pokecenter and was promptly returned to her ball.

"I guess that wasn't so bad...", he thought to himself as he looked outside, rain beginning to fall, "but where's Lily?"

He took a seat in the lobby and watched as the storm gradually progressed. It fell down in thick sheets, obscuring his view beyond a few feet that was only visible in the occasional flash of lighting. He was beginning to get worried about Lily, trying remind himself that she had probably dealt with weather much worse than this, but it didn't do much to ease his mind. The faint glow from a nearby vending machine caught his eye and he got up to buy a soda, if only because it was something to do. As he opened the can and took a sip, he felt someone tap on his shoulder and was relieved to see it was Lily.

"Sorry that took so long", she said, panting.

She was completely soaked to the bone, her clothes pasted to her skin and her hair slicked back. His heart jumped when he noticed how her wet tank top showed off the pale skin underneath, untouched by the sun. Her black sports bra was especially noticeable and he tried not to stare, but with little success.

"Since this rain probably won't let up anytime soon...," Lily gasped, still trying to catch her breath," We should stay here for the night; don't worry I'll pay."

"Oh, are you sure?," Alex asked, feeling a bit uneasy.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," she said, walking up to the front desk.

She came back shortly after and threw Alex the key to their room, "Here you go, we're staying in room 105. You go ahead; I'm going to go take a shower."

He let out a sigh of relief, thankful that he didn't have to tolerate Lily's stench any longer. Though the smell was strong when they were outside, being inside an unventilated building was almost unbearable. She took out a bar of soap and a few clothes from her backpack then gave it to him, asking that he take it with him. Gathering up all her things, he went down the hall and quickly found their room. He opened the door and was surprised to see that it was quite spacious with two twin beds, a small TV, and a mini fridge.

"Damn...," Alex whispered, looking around, "She really went all out..."

Sitting down on one of the beds, he took out Skip and Fae's pokeballs and let them out. Skip began to explore his new surroundings and eventually found the remote to the TV. The Pokémon picked it up with his mouth and began to gum the buttons, turning it on to some cartoon featuring crudely drawn baby Pokémon. He froze, mesmerized by the sound and colors, and contently sat down to watch it. Meanwhile, Fae stood still, looking a bit confused as to why she was out of her pokeball, but remained silent.

Alex picked up Mari's pokeball and contemplated on whether to let her out. He knew the only way she would get any better was to have her spend more time outside, but he dreaded having to deal with it. Reluctantly, he let her out and found that he had forgotten to take off her blindfold, which he decided to leave on just to be safe. The Mareep turned her head frantically, trying to hear what was going on around her. Deciding to take a risk, he picked up Mari, who began to struggle, and put her on the bed.

"Hey girl", he said in a soft voice, "It's alright, don't be afraid".

He lightly stroked the Mari's coarse wool, static shocks visibly arching in the dim light. Though she was still nervous, she was much more relaxed than she had been earlier. She laid her head down on the mattress, pointing her ear warily in Alex's direction. The young man looked over at Lily's backpack and saw a flat, oblong shaped tin sticking out from one of the pockets. Curiosity got the better of him and he opened it, revealing both her Trainer's License and a collection of badges, eight in total. He recognized them as badges from Johto and wasn't surprised, seeing how ambitious she was. When he took out her Trainer's License to get better look at it, a picture fell out from behind.

It was a photo of Lily happily draping her arms around the broad shoulders a very handsome young man. He looked to be a couple of years older than her and had shaggy dark hair with striking, deep-set blue eyes. It appeared as though it had been taken at some event, as they were both wearing very formal clothing. Alex was amazed at how beautiful Lily was, her violet satin dress accentuating her curves and her hair was long and clean, falling down her back in thick tresses. He looked again at the man she was with then looked at himself in a mirror across the room.

He couldn't really call himself good-looking, but he wasn't really ugly either. He ran his fingers through his short dirty blonde hair and examined his features. Sharp nose, narrow jaw, hazel eyes...there wasn't really much wrong with his face. His body was a different story. He had always been tall, even as a kid, but when puberty hit it seemed like he only got taller and not much else. His hands and feet grew, sure, but they looked almost clownish compared to his lanky body. The man in the photo was well-built and knew it, his smug grin inciting contempt. Just then, the door opened and Alex hastily hid the picture in his pocket.

"That felt SO good!," sighed Lily, coming in wearing an oversized T-shirt and a pair of shorts, "You wouldn't believe how long it's been since I had took a shower."

Alex decided to say nothing. The girl looked over at the bed and saw that her tin was open.

"Hey!", she shouted, quickly picking it up, "What makes you think you can go through my stuff?"

"Sor-rry!", Alex said defensively, " Can you blame me for being curious?". He nervously felt his pocket.

She sighed angrily and closed it, not noticing that her picture was missing, "Whatever, I guess it didn't do much harm..."

Alex sat back down on the bed next to Mari, who was fast asleep. He idly rubbed one of her ears as he watched Lily comb out her hair.

"It's pretty impressive that you have all the badges from the Johto League", he said, trying to fill the silence.

Lily put down her comb and paused before answering, "Yeah...I guess so...thanks..."

"If you have all the badges, why don't you go home and show your parents?", asked Alex, sensing something was wrong, "I'm sure they'd be proud of you."

"Not my parents...", she said, resuming to comb her hair.

"What are you talking about?", he maintained, "Do you know how few people actually manage to get all eight gym badges? My brother only has six and he's been at it longer than you."

She slowly walked over to the bed and sat down on the other side of Mari. Placing a hand on the Mareep's back, she looked away from Alex and began to speak.

"My dad always expected a lot of me, "she started, " Even in school, if I got a B or something on an assignment, he'd get angry at me and yell about how important it was to excel and what not. Nothing I did seemed to satisfy him...until I got my Trainer's License. I had never seen him so happy...he was actually proud of me. Before I left, he kept talking about how he couldn't wait for me to beat the Elite Four, so I trained every day since the day I left so I'd be ready. But when I finally faced them...I failed. I just...wasn't good enough..."

She stopped and sniffed loudly, wiping her nose on her arm, "I knew that I'd never be able to face my dad after that, so I came here..."

"Why can't you just try again?", Alex asked.

"Because...", Lily continued, her voice quivering, "If you fail to beat the Elite Four, you can't challenge them again for 90 days, but there's nothing about trying to beat the Elite Four of another region."

The two trainers were silent, the only noise in the room being the obnoxious sound effects of the cartoon on TV. Lily laughed a bit and turned to face Alex, her eyes red and watery.

"What the _hell_ are you watching?", she smiled, her voice cracking.

"Hey, don't blame me!", said Alex, "Skip turned on the TV!"

"Yeah, I'm sure", she said sacrastically, "Regardless, we should all go to bed. We have a big day ahead of us if you plan to get your first badge".

"You're coming with me?", he asked.

"Of course, I need to get my first badge too if I want to challenge the Elite Four. Johto badges don't count in the Hoenn league, you know", she stated, going over to her bed.

"Right", Alex agreed. He got up and turned off the TV, much to Skip's disappointment. He returned both him and Fae and walked over to his bed. Mari was curled up on the edge, sleeping peacefully. He smiled and gently removed the blindfold from her eyes, trying his best not to wake her.


	9. Chapter 9: Petalburg Woods

A/N: Sorry about the relatively long time it took me to update. The internet has been dumb lately. Oh well, hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

"Come on, Alex, we can't spend all day battling wild Pokémon!", Lily shouted, pulling her friend away from a startled Wurmple.

"But I'm just getting the hang of it!", Alex protested.

The two had made their way into the Petalburg Woods and planned to reach Rustboro by sun down. However, Alex found it hard to pass up battling the sheer amount of wild Pokémon they kept running into and, while it was good practice, it had cost them hours of daylight.

"That may be..," Lily insisted, "but battling every Pokémon you come across is reckless! When Pokémon faint, they're vulnerable to predators, you could really throw off the ecosystem. Besides, I'm sure we'll run into some other trainers later."

"I guess you're right...", Alex sighed, recalling Skip into his pokeball. The Wooper had grown considerably since they entered the woods, as he no longer fainting after every other battle and had finally learned Slam, though his accuracy still needed work. He only hoped that his training would pay off when they reached the Rustboro Gym.

"We may have lost a few hours with all that battling", she stated, looking over a map, "But at least the weather will hold out; I checked the radio earlier this morning and they said that most of the storm has passed and-"

He gradually phased out Lily as the ambience of the wilderness enveloped his senses. A serene calm hung lazily in the air that was occasionally broken by the distant echo of rustling leaves. He looked up and watched as Taillows flew about in the canopy, casting flicking shadows in the hazy patches of light. Whatever movement or sound there was seemed muted in the thick, humid air, invoking a sense of isolation. He thought about Mari and took out her pokeball, deciding it'd be a good time for her walk around.

"Mareeep?", the Pokémon yawned as she materialized.

"Hey, Mari", said Alex, kneeling down to fasten her harness, "Let's go for a walk."

Lily looked up from her map and noticed that Mari was out.

"What are you thinking?", she asked, "We're already behind schedule; bringing her out will only make it worse. I am not spending the night here..."

"Calm down, control freak," said Alex, grinning, "You said that the only way she'd get any better was to handle her more, so that's what I'm doing..."

"Yeah, but-ugh, whatever...at least put on her blindfold," she groaned, exasperated.

"I don't think she needs it anymore", he said, pulling Mari in his direction.

"Fine", the girl huffed, quickening her pace, "But don't blame me when something goes wrong".

Alex chuckled, quietly dismissing Lily's warnings. However, that was before a loud, young boy in a straw hat jumped out from the brush, as if on cue.

"Hey-!", the boy shouted.

Mari reared back, startled by the sudden noise and movement, and let out an ear-piercing scream. She pulled on her harness, practically choking herself in her attempt to flee and began to haphazardly shock everything aroud her. Alex remembered how Lily had calmed her before and tried to imitate it. Unfortunately, he forgot the detail about her having electric-proof gloves and grabbed the orb of her tail with bare hands. The last thing he remembered was an intense pain traveling throughout his body.

He woke up shortly afterward, both Lily and the boy looking over him with concern. His whole body felt numb, especially his arm, and slowly flexed his hand to regain feeling.

"Are you alright?", asked Lily, her voice frantic.

"Yeah...", he coughed, sitting up.

He looked around and saw that Mari was sitting by herself, blindfolded. Lily must have put it on her while he was out. Her ears twitched as Alex stirred and she slowly walked to him, her head and tail low to the ground. She sat down next to him and whimpered quietly.

"Don't worry, girl", Alex said weakly, "I don't blame you..."

He stood up and wobbled slightly, his legs shaking under his weight, and leaned on Lily's shoulder for balance. She did her best to hold him up, but considering how he towered over her, it wasn't an easy task. The young boy in the hat smiled and got out a pokeball.

"So do you want to battle now?", he asked eagerly.

"What?", Lily exclaimed, "You can't be serious-".

"Sure", Alex said, finally regaining his footing.

Lily looked at him in disbelief, "Are you crazy? You're in no condition to battle!".

"I need to...", he said, taking out Skip's pokeball, " My Pokémon aren't ready for Rustboro yet..."

"Aw, Yeah!", the boy shouted, jumping with excitement," Go, Wormy!".

A large, butterfly-like Pokémon appeared on the field. It softly flapped its colorful wings and curled it proboscis.

"Beauuutifly", it hummed.

"Go, Skip", Alex called out, throwing his pokeball.

Skip appeared and faced the Beautifly with unabashed confidence, puffing out his chest and striking the ground with definite slaps.

"Woop!", he cried loudly.

"Ok!", the boy shouted, "Wormy, use Tackle!"

The Pokémon dove at Skip with amazing speed, hitting the Wooper before he could even think of jumping out of the way. He reeled back, slightly dazed from the attack, and shook it off.

"Skip, use Water Gun!", Alex commanded.

He puckered his mouth and tried to go through with the attack, but was only able to spit out a few drops of water. Alex stared in confusion.

"Idiot!", said Lily, "Pokémon can only use a move so many times. You used up Water Gun when you were battling all those wild Pokémon!"

"Yeah...of course...", he said, embarrassed, "Well, then...Skip, use Slam!"

Skip began to swing his tail like a shot-put and hurled himself into the air. The Beautifly floated in place as he flew past and landed in a patch of tall grass. His opponent broke out into a high-pitched cackle and held his sides while Alex pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Wow, dude!", said the boy through his laughter," You suck! Wormy, let's end this! Use Absorb!

A sinister look spread across the Pokémon's face and it flew over to the patch of grass where Skip had landed in and fished him out. He struggled in the Beautifly's grip, trying to slip through by secreting more mucus, but it held tight. It uncurled its proboscis and pierced the Wooper's stomach, making him cry out in pain. Alex watched on in horror, helpless as Skip grew weaker and weaker as the Beautifly fed on him. Finally, it dropped him on the ground and flew back beside its trainer, looking refreshed.

"Skip!", Alex yelled, running to his fallen Pokémon.

The Wooper laid motionless on the ground, knocked out cold. Reluctantly, he returned Skip to his pokeball and thought about his next move. He could always send out Fae, but remembered that psychic Pokémon were weak against bug types, and looked over at Mari. It was risky, but it could work. He walked over to his Mareep and took off her blindfold.

"Ok, girl", he said, crouching down to her level," It's all up to you now, but you need to stand firm. No freaking out, no running away. Do you understand?".

The sheep pokemon shifted nervously, looking back and forth between Alex and the Beautifly. He cupped her head his hands and looked her in the eyes.

"I know you can do it," he whispered, "If you can knock me out, you sure as hell can knock out that pest, now go!".

Mari slowly walked out into the fray, a look wary of confidence in her eyes. She trembled as she lifted her tail into the air, ready to fight.

"Ha, this is TOO easy!", his opponent boasted, "Wormy, Tackle that dumb Mareep!".

The Beautifly swooped down and Mari jumped out of the way, missing by only a few inches. The Pokémon seethed with frustration and tried to attack again, but was stopped as Mari released an intense bolt of lightning, engulfing it in electricity. The Beautifly swayed awkwardly in the air, obviously hurt by the attack, much to the annoyance of the young boy.

"No fair!", he whined, "Use Poison Sting!".

The Butterfly Pokemon's proboscis became rigid, almost resembling a stinger, and a thick, purple fluid dripped out from the end. It stuck Mari in the side, injecting her with poison before quickly retreating. The Mareep didn't seem to take much damage at first, but then her front legs gave out and she struggled to stand back up, wobbling in place.

Alex began to get worried and started to flip through his textbook.

"What's wrong with her?", he said out loud.

"She's been poisoned", Lily informed, "If you don't take her out of battle now, she'll continue to get weaker every turn until she faints. Losing her first fight will only hurt her confidence; it'd be best to call her back."

"Ok..."he sighed, getting out Mari's pokeball," Mari, return."

The Mareep let out a stubborn snort and stamped her hooves, refusing to leave the battle. She turned around and looked at Alex, her brow furrowed in determination. He nodded and Mari turned around, holding her head high and raising her tail into the air.

"What are doing? Aren't you going to call her back?", asked Lily.

Alex ignored her, "Mari, use Thundershock!"

The orb on her tail began to crackle with a fierce light that spread down to cover her entire body. She braced herself and aimed at the Beautifly, striking the Pokémon with a powerful blast of electricity, causing it to fall to the ground. It twitched and feebly tried to get back up before passing out, smoke rising from its body. The boy in the straw hat punched a nearby tree in frustration and recalled his Pokémon.

"No Fair, no fair!", he screamed, shaking his fists, "You cheated! Here's your stupid money! "

The boy thrust his hand into his pocket and threw a small amount of change onto the ground. With that, he turned around and ran into the woods, disappearing into the shadows. Alex stood still for a few seconds before realizing that he had won.

"Alright!", he exclaimed, running up to Mari, "You did it, girl!".

"Mareee...eee", she murmured, sitting down to rest.

"Well, I gotta say, you didn't do half bad", said Lily, walking up next to Alex, "A bit rash, but it's a start."

"What are you talking about?", said Alex, petting his Mareep, "We were great out there, weren't we, Mari?"

His excitement died down a bit when he noticed how sick Mari was beginning to look. He composed himself and returned her to her pokeball.

"Don't get cocky!", Lily snapped, taking out her map, "You may have won this battle but there are a lot of trainers out there who have much stronger Pokémon than you! Now let's go, it's already 5 o' clock. If we can't make it out of here by sun down, I at least want to find a decent place to camp out."

Alex picked up his prize money and followed Lily, looking forward to meeting the Rustboro Gym Leader.


	10. Chapter 10: Lily's Pokemon

A/N: This chapter was an absolute pain to write; I just hope that it isn't a pain to read. I'm not really sure how well I write battle scenes, so some feedback would be nice. I'm thinking of maybe deleting this chapter and just skipping to Alex's fight if it's too much.

* * *

Cool, refreshing air blew over Alex as he and Lily walked through the automatic doors of the Rustboro Pokemon Center. Though it was barely noon, the sun had already become unbearable and the humidity only made it worse. Alex finally understood why Lily had wanted to spend the night in town; He still hadn't gotten over the shock of finding a dozen Wurmple sharing his sleeping bag for warmth. He was suprised at how cold it got at night, considering how hot it was during the day.

"Welcome to the Rustboro Pokémon Center", said a passing nurse to the exhausted pair, "What can we do for you today?".

"Oh, we just need to clean up a bit...", said Alex, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Ok, then", she said, smiling, "The washrooms are just down the hall on the left."

Lily walked ahead of Alex, visably angry. She turned back and glared at him.

"We wouldn't have to do this if you hadn't wasted so much time battling", she sneered, narrowing her eyes.

Alex was too tired to be angry," At least we made it here in one piece. Besides, we can't afford to spend every night in a Pokémon center"

"I can", Lily retorted, flashing her cash-filled wallet," When you win almost every battle you fight, you can afford anything."

"Then why were you covered in a week's worth of shit when I ran into you?", he asked casually.

"Shut up, I'd been on the road for a while!", Lily shouted, blushing, "When a Pokémon Center isn't nearby, I camp out. Otherwise, I stay in them as often as possible."

The washrooms were exceptionally busy with dozens of Trainers walking in and out, carrying towels, soap, and other various toiletries. Alex took notice of this and decided that he'd rather wait until another time to shower, but Lily insisted that she had to be clean as soon as possible.

"I like to look nice when I challenge a city's Gym Leader", she explained as she got out some shampoo, "You should do the same."

"No, it's alright, I'll just wait out here", he sighed, impatient.

He walked out into the lobby and sat in one of the plush, vinyl chairs. A group of trainers were seated opposite of him and talked amongst themselves. Even though they were younger than him, he could tell that they were much more experienced. One of them had four gym badges pinned proudly on the front of his vest and talked rather loudly about his adventures to his friends and another was accompanied by a Graveler, which from what he understood, was a moderately experienced Pokémon. They were what he had always wanted to be, what he still wanted to be: An official Pokémon Trainer. Not a 16 year old imposter who has just as much skill and practice as a 10 year old. He fidgeted nervously in his seat, wishing that Lily would hurry up so they could leave.

"Hey!", yelled one of the kids, "Are you a trainer?". It was the boy with the four badges.

Alex sunk a bit into his seat, "I don't know-yeah, sure-I guess so-"

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?", the boy said, mockingly.

One of the other trainers, a young girl, shook her friend's shoulder.

"Don't bother him, Michael", she whispered, looking waryily at Alex.

"Shut up, I'm not bothering him!", Michael snapped. He turned back to Alex, "Show us your Pokémon".

"Why?", he replied blankly.

"Because older trainers like you always have cool Pokémon!", the boy exclaimed.

The other trainers heard him and gathered around Alex, looking on in anticipation.

"Awesome! Did he say what kind he had?"

"He only has three pokeballs, they must be really strong!"

"Come on, show us already!"

Alex was trapped, surrounded by noisy, excitable preteens who wanted to see Pokémon he didn't have. He played through every possible outcome, most of them ending in laughter and humiliation, possibly even outing him as a fake. He got up from his seat and tried to push his way out of the crowd when suddenly, a Ninetales made its way through the congestion and rubbed up against his legs.

"Tails...", it purred contently.

The young trainers gasped in delight and immediately began to pet and comment on the fire Pokémon. Alex was bewildered and looked around frantically to try and find were it had come from. He spotted Lily, arms crossed and watching on with smug satisfaction. It didn't help that she had taken the time to dry her hair and apply make-up.

"Ok, guys", Alex said above the roar, "Me and...um-Tailsy, have to get going".

He pushed past the crowd and ran out of the Pokémon Center, the Ninetales following close behind. Lily strutted out shortly after.

"Thanks for getting me out of that mess...", he said begrudgingly.

"No problem", she smirked, patting her Ninetales on the head.

"I guess I should thank you too", he said, looking down at the Fox Pokémon.

He reached down to pet it, only to have it snap at his hand and glare at him disdainfully. Lily gave the Ninetales one last pat before returning it back into its pokeball.

"Amber doesn't like people, especially boys", she said, almost sounding proud, "She only acted all lovey-dovey towards you because I commanded her to do so. Otherwise, she'd probably tear you to pieces".

"Let's just get to the Gym", Alex sighed, "I just want to get my badge and get out of this city..."

The Rustboro Gym was far less impressive than he imagined it to be. It was a modest, brick structure that could have been a rec-center or maybe even a school. In fact, it might as well been a school, considering how many kids there were battling each other. Strangely, they all had rock-Pokémon of some sort, mostly Geodudes, and looked too young to be real trainers. Maybe it was a part of an extension program at the local Trainer's School?

"Welcome, challengers!", a voice called out from the back of the gym.

A young woman with elaborate pig-tails wearing a formal, yet very short dress walked towards them. Alex was surprised to see someone like her in what seemed to be in a Rock-type exclusive Gym. She reached out shook Lily's hand.

"I'm Roxanne, Leader of the Rustboro City Gym", she said.

"I'm Lily Williams of Violet City, it's a pleasure to meet you", Lily said.

"You're the Gym Leader?", Alex blurted out.

He realized his faux paux the moment it came out of his mouth. The two girls stared daggers at him and he recoiled, humiliated by his mistake. Roxanne let go of Lily's hand and grabbed Alex's, shaking it with a death grip.

"I'm Roxanne, Leader of the Rustboro City Gym", she repeated, this time with a bit of malice.

"I'm Alex Monroe of Violet City, nice to meet you", he mumbled, trying to tolerate her handshake.

"Very well," said Roxanne, walking back to her side of the Gym, "I assume both of you are Trainers and wish to battle me for my badge? Which one of you wants to go first?".

Before Alex had any time to react, Lily jumped ahead of him and stepped into the ring. Initially, he wanted to be the first to win his badge, but after his exchange with Roxanne, he thought it might wise to observe his friend first. The children in the Gym noticed that a battle was about to commence and they surrounded the ring, cheering for their Gym Leader. Roxanne opened a box and pulled out three pokeballs.

"I see that you're more experienced than most Trainer's who challenge me, so I plan to use my most advanced Pokémon.", she said to Lily. The children on the sidelines yelled in excitement, their voices creating a cacophonous echo.

"Let the battle commence!", Roxanne announced, throwing a pokeball into the ring.

In a flash a light, a monstrous snake-like behemoth appeared before them. Alex followed it's long, segmented body from its tail up to its enormous head, making his neck ache. Its metal body glistened in the bright lights and it let out a low growl that sounded like creaking steel.

"A Steelix, huh?", Lily noted, feeling around her belt, "In that case...Go, Kiki!.

A beautiful Vaporeon materialized on the field and spread her fins wide, showing off for the crowd. The young spectators leaned closer to get a better view, captivated by the Bubble Jet Pokémon.

"Take notice," Roxanne called out to her students, "That's a Vaporeon, one of the many possible evolutions of Eevee. It's a water-type which means it has a type advantage over my rock-type Pokémon." The children nodded in response, some taking notes.

Lily grit her teeth impatiently, "Kiki, Hydro Pump!"

Kiki dug her feet into the ground and blasted the Steelix with an impossibly large torrent. The giant roared in agony as the water eroded away at its rocky skin and reeled back. It fell, the length of its body sounding like a rock slide as it hit the ground, ending with a concussive boom that shook the lights. The crowd of students went silent, staring at the unconscious Pokémon in disbelief as a flurry of loosened dust rained down from the ceiling. Alex was just as shocked, amazed that the Vaporeon could take down something that was at least ten times its size. Roxanne was the first one to break the silence, clearing her throat.

"You've trained your Vaporeon well, "she said coolly, returning her Steelix," Let's see how you fare against my Golem".

A battle-hardened Golem entered the fray. It heaved up a foot and stomped the ground, rattling the windows. Lily smirked and returned Kiki, throwing another pokeball into the ring.

"Go, Sandrew!", she yelled.

"_Sandrew_?", Alex asked.

"Be quiet, I thought it sounded cute at the time"

A Sandslash came out of the pokeball and stared downed his opponent. He shook his quills and hissed, trying his best to look intimidating.

"Sandrew, Sand Tomb!"

"Golem, use Earthquake!"

Sandrew curled himself into a tight ball and began to spin around, whipping up the dirt from the ground into a cyclone that surrounded the Golem. The rock Pokémon recoiled slightly as the dirt hit its face and shell, but as undeterred. It began to stomp its feet in quick succession, sending strong tremors in the Sandslash's direction. The attack threw him off-balance and he fell backwards, obviously pained as the earth shook beneath him. Slowly, he got back up, panting lightly.

Roxanne noticed how much damage the Shrew Pokémon had taken, "Finish it off, Golem, use Roll-Out!"

The Golem withdrew its head and limbs into its shell and spinned backwards before lunging at its opponent. Oddly, the cyclone of dust followed it.

"Quick, Sandrew, Dig!"

Sandrew quickly tunneled under the ground, just avoiding the Golem's attack. It looked like it was going to roll into them and Alex began to run out of the way before the Golem started to spin in the opposite direction, causing it to slow down. It rolled back next to Roxanne and spun in place. The ground cracked as Sandrew tunneled underneath, revealing its position. The Gym Leader carefully followed the trail before giving the command.

"There!", she pointed.

Her Golem immediately rolled out and hit Sandrew as he burst from the ground. However, just as the Golem struck him, he too made contact with his opponent. The two Pokémon returned next to their trainers, both on the verge of fainting. The Megaton Pokémon was beginning to spin more irregularly, the dust cloud eating away at the remainder of its health. Finally, it slowly stopped and remained still. Roxanne frowned and returned her Pokémon.

"You did a good job", Lily said to her Sandslash. He bumped his nose against her hand in affection before he was returned to his pokeball.

Roxanne silently pulled out her last pokeball and threw it into the ring. At first Alex thought it was a Scyther until he spotted its flat, wide rocky head. It stared back at him maliciously and slowly ran one of its sickle-like blades across the other, creating an audible sharpness.

"Kabutops", it said under its breath.

Lily grabbed a pokeball that was covered in stickers and tossed it, "Go, Chiklet!"

The Meganium appeared and stood proudly beside his trainer. Alex was a bit confused why Lily was going through the trouble of switching out her Pokémon when the ones in battle were still able to fight. Her Vaporeon alone could have taken out her last opponent, maybe even this one too, but she chose to use almost all of her Pokémon. He wondered if she was just trying to show off, trying to prove to him that she was the superior trainer. Considering what he knew about her, that was probably the case.

"A grass-type," Roxanne remarked, "Wrong move. Kabutops, use Ice Beam!"

A cold, mist began to fall from the Kabutops' mouth that was shortly followed by concentrated white beam. It hit Chiklet dead on, causing frost to build along the edges of its petals and antenna. It stoically took the pain, occasionally shaking off ice.

"Solar Beam!", Lily commanded.

Chiklet flattened out his petals and turned them to face the light coming out from the windows. The remaining frost that covered his body instantly melted and his antenna began to slowly grow brighter and brighter. The Kabutops narrowed its eyes and charged at the Meganium, mist trailing behind it as it prepared another attack. Before it could make its move, it was engulfed by a ray of strong, warm light that illuminated the entire Gym. Alex turned away, shielding his eyes. He opened them to find the Kabutops flat on its back, motionless.

"So...I've lost", Roxanne said formally, returning her Pokémon, "Very well, please except the official Hoenn league Stone Badge.

The Gym Leader gave Lily a small, grey pin and shook her hand, nodding her head in respect. She turned and looked at Alex expectantly.

"You're up", Lily said, giving him a quick tap on the shoulder.

Alex grabbed Skip's pokeball and slowly traced the lock with a finger. Finally, he took a long, deep breath before stepping into the ring.


	11. Chapter 11: Fae's turn

This was the moment he had been waiting for. The moment that would define him as a real Pokémon trainer. The moment that he hoped to hell he wouldn't screw threw Skip's pokeball and watched as the Wooper jumped out, the same vacant smile plastered across his face. He wondered if he knew how important this battle would be, but it was doubtful. It was probably just another fight to him. His opponent was one of Roxanne's Geodudes. Thankfully, she figured out he wasn't as familiar with battling as Lily and sent out a relatively inexperienced one.

"Let the battle commence!", Roxanne announced, officially beginning the match.

He felt mouth go dry and his legs began to shake uncontrollably. Everything around him seemed to dissolve. He thought back to the day before he left for Hoenn. He had spent the entire morning getting ready, making sure he had enough supplies and gathering up as much money as he could get his hands on.

Vincent had practically moved back in after he showed up a few weeks earlier. He hadn't voiced any plans of living with them again, but before he never stayed more than a week and their parents didn't seem to have a problem with it. His room, which their mother had kept in pristine condition, was now a complete mess like it had always been before he left to become a trainer. Alex remembered digging through his sock drawer, since that's where he usually kept his money.

"Damn it", he said under his breath, "Where is it? I know he keeps it in here."

"What are you doing?"

He turned around and saw Vincent standing in the doorway. His brother had changed greatly since he last saw him. For instance, he had put on a considerable amount of muscle and shaved his head, the latter to probably hide the early onset of baldness that men in his family go through. He had also gotten a tattoo on his left shoulder: a fierce looking Arcanine. His brother always had an obsession with fire-type Pokémon.

"Nothing", Alex lied, closing the drawer, "I was just missing a pair of socks and I-"

"Don't bullshit me," Vincent sighed," If you wanted some cash, you could have just asked me. Besides, I haven't hid money in there for years; I have a wallet now. What do you need it for anyway?"

"Just forget it", Alex said, pushing his way past his brother.

"Aw, come on! You can tell me! You've been acting so weird since I came back"

He followed Alex back to his room and spotted his backpack on his bed, overflowing with clothes and supplies.

"Where are you going?", Vincent asked, suspicious.

Alex decided that there was no use trying to hide it from him anymore.

"I'm going to become a Pokémon Trainer", he said flatly.

His brother stared at him for a moment before cracking a smile, "You can't be serious. Look, me giving you that Mareep wasn't my cue for you to off on your own amazing journey right now. You have to wait until you pass that test, or else they could-"

"I don't care"

Vincent's expression became more severe. He walked over and grabbed Alex's shoulders.

"Listen to me, you idiot," he hissed, "If you actually go through with this..."

"ALEX!"

Lily's voice snapped him back to reality. She looked desperate.

"What are you doing? You've already missed three turns; Skip's dying out there!", she stressed, pointing to the Wooper.

He watched as Skip awkwardly tried to dodge the Geodude's Tackle and ended up falling down on his side. He was covered in scrapes and bruises.

Alex began to panic, "Skip, use Slam!"

The Wooper jumped up and swung his tail at the Geodude, actually hitting it. The force of the attack sent the rock Pokémon flying back into the wall, creating a deafening boom. The successful strike renewed Alex's hopes; maybe he would actually win. However, that was before the Geodude crawled back into the ring, looking more annoyed than hurt.

"I was wondering when you'd join in", quipped Roxanne, looking at Alex disapprovingly, "But I have to say, your Wooper didn't do that bad on its own. At least it knew which attacks would be the most effective..."

He felt blood rush into his face. Now would be the perfect time to quit before he got any deeper into this disaster. He could just pack up and head home, like none of it had ever happened.

"Master, please let me fight"

"Fae?", he said out loud, looking down at his belt.

"Please let me fight. I promise I will win"

He figured he might as well let her battle before he went home, after all, he said he would train her. He recalled Skip and threw Fae's pokeball into the ring. The school children squealed in excitement and leaned over the walls, filling the gym with their voices. A few of the adults in the gym who initially showed no interest in the battle joined the crowd to see the shiny Ralts. Alex tugged on his collar and looked around at the curious spectators. He didn't expect Fae to get so much attention.

"A shiny Ralts", Roxanne commented, "I must say, even I'm surprised that you have such a Pokémon. Nonetheless, the battle is still on: Geodude, use Rock Throw!"

The Pokemon summoned a mass of rocks from the ground and lunged them at Fae. She seamlessly evaded them, never breaking eye contact with her opponent. Alex was about to give a command before realizing that he didn't know any of her attacks. Quickly, he fished out his textbook and searched frantically for the right moveset.

"Ok!...Fae, use-"

Before he said anything, a strange vibration filled the air. It felt similar to a very low frequency being played at a high volume, but it made was no sound. In fact, the entire crowd went silent as they were occupied with the bewildering sensation. Fae began to glow a very dull blue, as did the Geodude. The Rock Pokemon momentarily struggled before crawling back to his trainer's feet and fainting. Finally, the vibration subsided and Alex felt his ears pop. Roxanne looked shocked as she returned her Geodude and threw out her last Pokemon.

"Go, Nosepass", Roxanne said, rubbing her ears.

A Nosepass materialized and stood on the field like a statue. It remained still until Roxanne gave it a command.

"Nosepass, use Tackle."

The Compass Pokemon sprang to life and hit Fae. She didn't even try to move out of the way, but the attack didn't seem to faze her much. Again, the same vibration appeared, this time much weaker and accompanied by sound. Or at least, Alex thought there was sound and it wasn't just his ears ringing. The Nosepass froze in the middle of the ring. Apparently, whatever attack Fae used had put it to sleep.

"Nosepass, use Rock Tomb!", Roxanne yelled, trying to wake her Pokémon. It remained asleep, teetering slightly.

Fae began to glow again, this time more brightly. Ghostly tendrils extended from her aura and enveloped the Nosepass. The vibrations from before were replaced by a pressure that made Alex feel sick to his stomach. It almost felt like there was some force pulling him towards Fae. He watched the Nosepass struggle in its sleep, completely helpless against the attack, before losing its precarious balance and falling backwards. Roxanne quickly recalled her Pokémon and collected herself, shaking off the strange sensations. She walked up to Alex and handed him a Stone Badge.

"I completely underestimated you", she said, looking a bit fatigued, "Only a very dedicated, talented trainer could have raised such a Ralts."

Alex didn't know what to say. One moment he was on the verge of losing and now he was receiving his first badge. Blankly, he gave her a nod and turned to Fae. The Ralts smiled at him appreciatively before starting to emit a bright, white light.

"What?", Alex said, stepping back. He turned to Lily, "What's happening?".

"She's evolving", Lily answered, staring at the Pokémon.

The light grew brighter before slowly fading away. The two plate-like horns were now positioned on either side of her head, mimicking hair clips to compliment her "pig-tails". Her eyes were now completely visible, separated by a lock of hair. Long, thin legs came out from under the short, skirt-like fringe on the bottom of her torso. Fae looked over her own body in amazement, feeling every inch of her new form.

"I know what you are going to ask", she said, "I'm now what you would call a 'Kirlia' ". The voice he heard in his thoughts sounded warmer, more girlish.

"Well...ok", he thought, still in a daze. He gave her pat on the head, "You did a great job out there. Without your help, I would have lost".

Fae smiled before disappearing back into her pokeball. Lily was still dumbstruck by everything that had happened. Alex tugged on her backpack to get her attention and they left the gym.

"So, then...", said Lily, "What do you want to do now?"

"I really need a shower," he answered, feeling his new gym badge in his hands. For some reason, winning his first gym battle had left him feeling somewhat…empty.

The two went back to the local Pokémon Center. Outside its doors, a large Houndoom lied on the ground, watching people they passed. It noticed Alex and Lily and sat up as they walked in, its tongue hanging out of its mouth. Lily grimaced at the sight of it.

"Shoo!", she said, waving at the Houndoom. The Pokémon stood up and stepped back. It looked at Alex and barked.

"Go on, scat!", Lily shouted, swatting at it.

Alex watched as the Houndoom started to walk away. It turned around and looked at him for a moment before running off into the city.


End file.
